Truffle Shuffle Review

Truffle Shuffle sent me a box of supplies for their ice cream sandwich class, AND I got to attend their ice cream sandwich making online class, in exchange for a review.

With trying to reduce trips to the store these days, I’ve been getting lots of deliveries. So, I’m not stranger to receiving a box of food in the mail. A couple days before my scheduled class I received a box stuffed full of ingredients and yummy Truffle Shuffle items – I desperately wanted to eat some of these items before my class, but I managed to wait.

Everything arrived in an insulated box with ice packets. These packets still had some ice left in them so Truffle Shuffle definitely did a great job packing! Especially when you consider that the heat indexes were up into the 100’s the week my box arrived.

Everything arrived well packaged, well labeled, and pre-measured. Well, except for the truffle salt and truffle honey, they sent extra! I should add here, that truffle salt is amazing!!!

I put the perishables in the fridge and the non perishables in a neat stack on the table and waited for the class I had signed up for. And warned the kids that they were not allowed to eat the sprinkles!

Class is conducted via zoom and generally the screen looks like this. Sometimes they fullscreen on the chefs if they’re showing you something. If your camera is on, they’ll cycle through participants and you get to see what everyone else is doing. Don’t want to be seen? Leave your camera off. They did a terrific job of walking through the steps with you. At times, they would ask everyone to signal thumbs up that they had completed the step and were ready to move on. So, just like a real in person cooking class, they made sure everyone was keeping up and ready to go.

Several times people typed in questions and they were very quick to answer those. I feel like this class was amazingly interactive and fun!

I learned some fun cooking tips that I hadn’t known previously – like why we were browning butter for the cookies. And they did a terrific job of time management! For example, I know you’re all wondering what the lemons are for. They’re for 2 things. We made lemon ice cream with the lemon zest, and we made lemonade with the lemon juice.

We did the ice cream first. I had never made ice cream without an ice cream maker, so I was kinda skeptical, but it worked perfectly!

After mixing, and a lot of shaking! we put the ice cream in the freezer to sit while we did everything else. After mixing the cookies, while they were baking and cooling, we made lemonade.

When the lemonade was finished, the ice cream was ready, and the cookies were cooled, so we assembled our ice cream sandwiches. The class was scheduled for 1.5 hours and they were right on that time. Which is pretty incredible when you consider that they’re virtually walking a dozen households through making ice cream, cookies, lemonade, and assembling ice cream sandwiches.

I’m pretty proud of how my ice cream sandwich turned out! Several of the participants (actually about half of them) had their kids doing the class and the parent was just supervising. The kids kept up without a problem and they made the class so much more fun! Next time I sign up for a class, I’m going to have my kids make me dinner.

I highly recommend this class. I learned some new cooking techniques. Got to cook with truffle salt and truffle honey, a new thing for me. And, everyone enjoyed assembling and eating their own ice cream sandwiches!

Want to join a class of your own? Use my link for 10% off!

 

Keep Kids Smart with ART

Starting this Friday, March 20, the Boca Raton Museum of Art is launching a new series of free Online Community Art Initiatives for all ages at this link. Featuring the new Keep Kids Smart with ART series to help parents and their children who are home from school.

The Museum has always provided the community the added benefit of an Art School campus with an innovative art faculty, since its very beginnings in 1950. These art educators are using their expertise to develop online resources using the power of art. Also for seniors who are keeping social distance and who might feel isolated.

This series will provide art-oriented ways for people to creatively utilize their new free-time at home. Online art lessons, tips for parents to use art-making and creativity with their kids at home, and activities for all ages.

The resources on this landing page will evolve as time passes, as the art teachers receive feedback and reactions from families about their needs. It will also branch out to the Museum’s social media channels for ongoing activities — #BocaMuseumatHome.

Mirror, Mirror; Mulatta Seeking Inner Negress II – Alison Saar

New Exhibit: The Ultimate Collection of “Selfies” by America’s Leading Artists: from 1901 through 2015.

The term self-conscious takes on a whole new meaning in today’s social media era.

At a time when millions of selfies are posted every day and identity is proving to be more fluid, this exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery shines a new light on self-portraiture and representation.

The show was created to commemorate the National Portrait Gallery’s 50th anniversary, celebrating the artists who make the NPG Collection so extraordinary.

Eye to I brings together the work of major artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. The powerful works are from every decade, starting in 1901 and continuing through 2015.

The Museum is launching a new series of free Online Community Initiatives for all ages, including Keep Kids Smart with ART that will aim to help parents and their children who are home from school.

These free Online Community Initiatives will also reach out to seniors who are keeping social distance and who might feel isolated.

Starting on Friday, March 20 the Museum’s website will provide regularly updated links to new ongoing activities here, including live interactive streaming and tips for parents.

The Museum has always provided the community the added benefit of an Art School campus with an innovative art faculty, since its very beginnings in 1950. These art educators are using their expertise to develop online resources using the power of art.

Quote from the Museum Director:“Art, culture, and creativity have always made a difference in powerful ways, especially during challenging times,” said Irvin Lippman, the executive director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art. “While the Museum is temporarily closed, we will continue to give back to the community. Being inspired and creative have not been canceled. These artists in our new exhibition, “Eye to I: Self Portraits from the National Portrait Gallery,” made a lasting mirror effect of themselves, cutting across time and creating a very personal art that engages us – the viewer.” adds Lippman.

According to the National School Boards Association, kids who study art are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.

Studies show that art helps kids earn higher report card grades because skills developed through art lead to better learning in other areas.

Tips for parents and students on using art in your home:

  • Provide a special “creative zone” at home.
  • Make sure that your “creative zone” is mess-friendly and able to stand up well to spills and art-related fun.
  • Focus on the fun process, not on the outcome.
  • Create a special area to showcase your child’s artwork.
  • Watch and encourage your children as they work on their art.
  • Ask them questions to engage them while they create.

Check out Boca Raton Museum of Art’s online art today!

Divatress Bobbi Boss Wigs

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine.

Ever wanted to change your hair, but don’t want it to be permanent? I know I have! I love to play with my hair, but my hubby isn’t so thrilled with it. To be honest, I’m dying to try out that whole bright splash of color that people are doing in their hair these days – you know, the stripe of hot pink, or turning all my ends blue. I’m just not certain I’ll like it and haven’t tried it because I hate to do something so permanent and then decide it’s no good. And you know what’s worse than doing something I don’t like to my hair? Waiting for it to grow out…

I’ve been checking out these Bobbi Boss wigs, and they’re pretty awesome. They would definitely give me a chance to try out a new hair color without it being permanent. Bobbi Boss is an e-commerce site that carries wigs, haircare, and beauty products. I’m having fun browsing their hundreds of wigs. So much fun, in fact, it’s hard to decide what wig I would try out first!

Like this long wig, I could try out those blue colors that I’ve been dying to try. Without actually dying my hair!

Oh, and I’m loving this red hair. This would be so fun to wear for an extra pop of color!

I realize colors aren’t for everyone. They have regular hair colors as well. This Bob is super cute! And would give me the chance to go shorter without actually cutting my hair. They have a great selection of short wigs.

All of these hair styles have different shades available so you can go really different or get something that’s pretty close to your natural hair color. You could easily make it look like you cut your hair or dyed it when you haven’t actually done anything to your hair at all.

They have long wigs, short wigs, and all sorts of colors for each style. Hundreds of Women’s wigs. They also sell all the wig accessories you’ll need to make your wig wearing a success. It’s like the warehouse of wigs! Just online, so you don’t ever have to leave your home. Or if you’re like me, you can shop for wigs without your children trying them all on… Let’s just say that I’m really enjoying shopping Bobbi Boss online!

 

Family Christian Store – Review & $25 Giveaway

I received a $25 gift card to Family Christian in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

FC50

Family Christian Store is a one stop shop for all your Christian Book and Media needs. They have Bibles, Books, Music, DVDs, Kid’s Items, and even apparel.

They’re the exclusive retail partner for Active Faith Sports. A line of workout apparel with Christian-inspired designs and messages. You can check out their promo video for more information.

The closest Family Christian is 3 hours away from me so I chose to shop online with my gift card. I had way too much fun spending it and ended up spending a bit more because they have so much great stuff!

IMG_20160311_135336386_HDRI started by looking up Julianna Deering. I had read her book “Dressed For Death” a while back and liked it. It’s the third in the series and I’ve been wanting to get the first two. Since I can spend my gift card however I want I decided to get these.

Family Christian had a buy one get one 50% off sale, so with the sale price, I was still below my $25 with two books.

And I should add, that they were easy to find. I just searched for the author and all her books popped up and I added the two I wanted to my cart.

I still had a few dollars to spend.

I made the mistake of telling the kids they could help me pick something. They wanted about 20 DVDs so I think I did pretty good convincing them that they could live with 2. Of course, we had to get 2 since everything is buy one get one 50% off. And I can’t pass up a sale.

For the DVDs I  just browsed the kid’s DVD section. They have a huge selection of DVDs which was why it was so hard for my kids to choose. I browsed a few other sections as well just to see what they have and always found what I was looking for.

Sale

Family Christian has a buy one get one 50% off sale on their Books, Music, and DVDs until August 25th. This sale is good in store and online. And I just love finding books on sale!

You can mix and match items and categories to get the deal, your two items don’t have to be in the same department.

AND I get to give away a $25 Family Christian Gift Card to one lucky reader! Enter below for your chance to win.

“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller /FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

My New Etsy Site

I have finally opened my new Etsy site. If you’re not familiar with etsy it’s an online site where individuals can sell vintage items and/or handmade items made by themselves. You can rate the sellers once you purchase from them so it’s pretty easy to see if you’re purchasing from a reputable seller or not. I’ve made several purchases off of this site and never had any trouble at all. Most people are happy to make a sale and want a good rating so they can make more sales so they’re going to make sure you’re happy.

I also have so much fun just browsing the site and looking at all the cool stuff people have made!

If you want to see what I’m selling without going to Etsy you can see it on my blog here.

I have a few more things planned that I haven’t posted yet, some hairbows for little girls, bibs, burp cloths, baby quilts, and more! I’ll be posting updates as I get those finished and for sale.